Eight Gay Couples Sue To Force Missouri To Recognize Their Marriages

By
Carlos Santoscoy
Published:
February 13, 2014

The couples – two of which are men –
are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of
Missouri.

“Because of the many benefits of
marriage, Missouri has traditionally recognized lawful marriages
performed in other states,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive
director of the ACLU of Missouri. “We know that the people of
Missouri are fair-minded and did not intend to harm these eight
families and other like them throughout Missouri. But our current
laws do harm them.”

Voters in 2004 overwhelmingly (71%)
approved Amendment 2, which prohibits same-sex marriages from being
performed or recognized in Missouri.

Wednesday's lawsuit, filed in state
court in Jackson County, does not seek full repeal of Amendment 2.

Plaintiffs Janice Barrier and Sherie
Schild of Olivetter married in 2009 in Iowa. They women were
introduced by a mutual friend in the summer of 1981.

Now in their 60s, they worry about
their future together.

“We're really concerned that if one
of us would end up in a nursing home we might not have the same
rights to care for each other in privacy that different-sex married
couples enjoy in Missouri,” Barrier . Told Kansas City's KMBC-TV.
“It's so very important to us that we're not torn apart at the very
end of our lives.”